Address

Website:

Phone:

Hours:

Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Description

Charles Wright Academy is a Tacoma private school serving girls and boys from junior kindergarten (full-day pre-k) to grade 12. As an independent day school with an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school on one campus, our supportive learning environment offers differentiated learning so students of all ages receive just the right level of challenge. A Charles Wright education features small classes, excellent faculty, and a safe campus where children can develop academic, artistic, and athletic skills in preparation for college and life. We offer extensive bus service, including routes to Silverdale, Des Moines, Puyallup, and Olympia.

Head of School/Principal

Matt Culberson

Religious affiliation

Founded within the Olympia Episcopal archdiocese, CWA is now a non-sectarian school with a full-time chaplain who teaches (values, reflection, world religions) across all three divisions. We welcome students and families from all religious and non-religious backgrounds.

We’re for what you’re for.
We’re for the lovers of learning.
We’re for questioning the practice of teaching to the test.
We’re for empowering educators to ask, “What's right for this child?”
We’re for righting the one-size-fits-all wrongs that limit a child’s potential.
We’re for uncovering each child’s one-of-a-kind gift.
We’re for sparking curiosity and forsaking conformity.
We’re for heading outside to discover what’s inside.
We’re for a healthy dose of originality.
We’re for the freedom to be fearless.
We’re for the promise of community.
We’re for the power of every family.
We’re for what you’re for: your child.

Special programs

Running Club, X-TRA Art, technology and coding, and other extracurricular activities are available in the Lower School. Middle Schoolers can compete on the cross-divisional robotics team with Upper Schoolers or become disc jockeys on the Ultimate Frisbee team. The Upper School Knowledge Bowl team has won several recent state championships, and other special programs with rich tradition at CWA include National History Day, Model United Nations, local and international travel, Global Summit, Outdoor Education and Experiential Education weeks, and myriad extracurricular clubs and activities.

Facilities and resources

Charles Wright Academy is home to numerous academic, artistic, and athletic facilities and resources.
State-of-the-art science labs—including a dedicated research laboratory—opened in fall 2014. Classrooms are equipped with smart boards and flex spaces that allow for differentiated learning.
Performing art facilities include the black-box-style Donn Laughlin Theater, dressing rooms, rehearsal spaces, and music recording studio. Tarriers exploring the visual arts can do so in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art design studios.
The Tarrier Dome and the Wight Gym are home to gleaming basketball courts, weight rooms, training centers, and dance studios. Outdoor practice fields, a soccer and football stadium, and a baseball diamond are front and center as people enter and leave campus.
Faculty, staff, and students cultivate two vegetable gardens on campus, and the food service team prepares a daily seasonal menu featuring locally sources, natural, and organic foods.

Learning support

Our educators provide differentiated instruction for each student within our small classes. Charles Wright Academy employs three full-time learning specialists—one for each division, along one full-time school counselor serving all divisions, and two full-time college counselors in the Upper School. Learning specialists provide supplementary support in areas of study skills and organization. They also assist students with documented learning differences in receiving the accommodations they need to achieve their personal best.

Before/after school activities

CWA offers before- and after-school care. The school offers after-school snack and light dinner service in addition to breakfast and lunch service.

We compete in the WIAA 1A Nisqually League in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and track and field.
2015-2016 Nisqually League championships include tennis and soccer. Several Tarrier coaches were also named Nisqually Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
Recent team state championships include tennis (2016, 2015, 2013, 2012, 2011), cross-country (2012, 2004, 2003), basketball (2008), and golf (2007).
A student-led co-ed Ultimate club competes in regional tournaments. We also offer fitness, dance, and outdoor education classes.

Sports programs (Girls)

We compete in the WIAA 1A Nisqually League in baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, soccer, tennis, and track and field.
2015-2016 Nisqually League championships include volleyball, basketball, tennis, and track and field. Several Tarrier coaches were also named Nisqually Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
A student-led co-ed Ultimate club competes in regional tournaments. We also offer fitness, dance, and outdoor education classes.

Charles Wright Academy is a diverse community that strives to expand and enrich students’ perspectives on the world. Recognizing the value of diversity in our community, Charles Wright Academy has an unwavering commitment to provide a respectful, supporting and nurturing environment in which to explore individual differences and commonalities and prepare students for today’s pluralistic society. - Adopted by the Board of Trustees, December 2009

Foreign language programs

French
Japanese
Spanish

College preparation

100% college-bound

Graduation requirements

Four years of English
Three years of history/social studies
Three years of mathematics
Biology, physics and chemistry
Completion through the 300 level of either French, Japanese, or Spanish (years of instruction varies on level of knowledge upon entering Upper School)
One year of visual arts
One year of performing arts
Seven seasons of interscholastic athletics, nine seasons of fitness classes, or a combination (which could include non-CWA offerings in which students complete, e.g. swimming, rock climbing, ballet)
Contribution of 15 hours each year of community service to any nonprofit organization for 9th and 10th graders; 20 hours each year for 11th and 12th graders
Completion of the 9th grade seminar, a yearlong course covering digital citizenship, political citizenship (civics), and world religions
Participation in 10th grade Outdoor Education, a five-day backpacking or kayaking trip in the sophomore year
Participation in annual weeklong experiential learning activities, known as Winterim
Completion of a senior internship, a three-week full-time experience in the community at the end of the 12th grade year